Jesse Owens completes history-making Olympic performance on this day in 1936

Aug. 9, 1936

When the United States won gold in the 400-meter relay at the Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens punctuated his history-setting tear in the heart of Nazi-filled Germany.

Over a week of competition, Owens won four gold medals, each in world-record fashion.

The 22-year-old tied the world’s best mark in the 100-meter dash (10.3 seconds) before individually breaking records in the 200-meter dash (20.7 seconds) and long jump (8.06 meters), and running the opening leg of the United States’ world-record-setting 400-meter relay (39.8 seconds).

This story was originally published August 8, 2016 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Jesse Owens completes history-making Olympic performance on this day in 1936."